


Shore Leave

by Fiona James (Bluewolf458)



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-14 10:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11206275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Fiona%20James
Summary: Kirk insists that Spock takes shore leave





	Shore Leave

**Author's Note:**

> Originally printed in Naked Times 3 (1979)

Shore Leave  
  
by Fiona James  
  


  
  
Shore leave was a mixed blessing, Kirk often thought. For the senior officers - Spock in particular - it meant extra work compiling shore leave rosters. Often, it meant trouble among the younger and less responsible elements in the crew - and occasionally even from a senior officer breaking loose from his responsibilities. Kirk still had uncomfortable memories of the day Scotty - _Scotty_ \- had started a fight with the Klingons.  
  
Spock, at least, didn't mind the extra work, Kirk reflected gratefully; but it was a long time - too long - since Spock had taken a proper break.  
  
Even though he insisted that his needs were different from human ones, Kirk occasionally had the guilty feeling that, one day, Spock's half-human needs would make their presence felt and demand attention - especially since he had made use of Spock's willingness to be used.  
  
So, this time, Kirk was determined that Spock would accompany him on shore leave and get a definite break from his responsibilities.  
  
Spock himself felt a little... uncertain... as he considered Kirk's order to him. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend several days in Kirk's company; he did want to. He wanted to so much that it frightened him. If only McCoy had been going, too... But McCoy wasn't. The doctor had several friends living on this shore leave planet, friends he hadn't seen for some time. He had openly declared his pleasure at having the opportunity to visit them. One, in particular - the planet's chief medical officer - with whom it had already been decided he would stay, was an old friend from medical school; he was already looking forward to a nostalgic reunion. No, there would be no help from McCoy. And there was no one else whose presence Spock would welcome.  
  
The leave and duty lists complete, he took them to Kirk.  
  
"Thanks, Spock."  
  
Try again, Spock told himself, well aware that he would not change Kirk's mind - and, he knew illogically, he would regret it if he did.  
  
"Captain, there is no necessity for me to go on shore leave," he said. "I am able to obtain sufficient relaxation in my off-duty hours - "  
  
"But even then, you're as liable to be called on duty as I am," Kirk responded bluntly. "I want you to get a real break. And I can't trust you to take one unless I'm there to watch you - you know that as well as I do. Besides - " His voice softened. "I want your company."  
  
Spock was conscious of pleasure at Kirk's admission, but he went doggedly on. "You could go with Doctor McCoy if you want company."  
  
"Spock... " There was a hurt note in Kirk's voice. "I won't insist that you come with me if you'd rather not. But I'm determined that you will take leave. I'll accept your promise that you will."  
  
"Captain... if you insist that I take leave, even though I do not consider it necessary - I would... prefer to accompany you." _And hope that I can maintain proper self-control._  
  
Kirk looked searchingly at him as he continued. "I merely thought that Doctor McCoy would be more... entertaining company for you."  
  
"When he's involved with an old college friend who's also a doctor? Spock, would you call that entertaining?"  
  
"Well... no, Captain."  
  
"So that must rate as the silliest suggestion you've ever made."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"You are sure you want to come with me?"  
  
Kirk still sounded a little hurt; Spock could only guess that it was by his initial response which, he was forced to admit, must have sounded like a rejection.  
  
"There is nothing I would like more," Spock admitted. "I appreciate the... the invitation, Captain. Thank you."

 

  
***

  
  
They beamed down with McCoy and three crewmen, leaving Scotty in command. Once down, the landing party split up, the crewmen going one way, their officers another.  
  
Soon McCoy stopped. "I turn off here," he said. "Enjoy yourselves - and if you give yourselves blisters, don't come to me looking for sympathy. Take it easy at first."  
  
Kirk chuckled. "We'll do that. Don't you drink too much - if one of us does get blisters, we'll be yelling for you."  
  
"You would undoubtedly obtain more benefit from your leave by accompanying us," Spock put in evenly. "We won't be sitting up all night imbibing alcoholic beverages - "  
  
McCoy looked indignant.    "Do you really think that I - "  
  
"Yes." The answer came as a chorus, one voice calmly certain, the other mildly amused. McCoy grinned. "Not all night," he protested.  
  
Kirk laughed. "Enjoy yourself anyway, Bones."  
  
"I will - I hope you two do!" He waved a cheerful goodbye as he headed off down the side street.  
  
Kirk and Spock continued on towards the base's recreational center where they would be able to borrow the equipment they needed for a camping leave - tent, sleeping bags, cooking utensils - and buy food. Despite the jokes about blisters, Kirk didn't plan on doing much walking. He really did mean to spend this leave relaxing, and he knew Spock would agree with whatever he suggested. Spock would be an undemanding companion, he thought, and a very understanding one. They would both enjoy just sitting quietly, talking together, he was sure. The moment of hurt, of feeling rejected, by Spock's apparent unwillingness to go with him... Spock was just being his usual conscientious self... it didn't mean anything...  
  
Did it? Within twenty-four hours of setting up camp, he was beginning to feel doubt again. Spock was strangely... distant... more than usually formal, as if he were trying to keep the human at arm's length. Kirk found himself racking his brain to think of what he might have done or said to offend Spock since they had beamed down - and could think of nothing.  
  
He sat unhappily watching Spock as the Vulcan examined a curious rock formation at the top edge of a steep slope close to their camp. He had looked forward to this leave, anticipating an easy, undemanding period of relaxation and peace in the company of his closest friend - but it was turning out so horribly wrong. Spock was tense, distant... surely, surely he wasn't offended by being ordered on leave... surely he didn't feel that he'd _had_ to go with Kirk, especially after the captain had told him he'd accept a promise that Spock would take leave... surely he hadn't lied when he said he wanted to accompany Kirk - even though it now looked as if he didn't...  
  
Spock moved a little further along, getting closer to the edge of the steep drop. Kirk shifted uncomfortably; the slope terminated in a rock face - only a few feet high, to be sure, but even so short a fall could injure severely, even kill. If Spock lost his footing...  
  
But the Vulcan moved on, sure-footed as a cat, and out of sight.  
  
Unobserved now, Kirk allowed himself to relax. It was a relief, he admitted to himself, to be alone for a few minutes - and it shouldn't have been. His unhappiness and uncertainty showed in his face, in every line of his body. Should he simply give up, allow Spock to return to the Enterprise, and spend the rest of his leave alone? If he did, he would be lonely and he would certainly not enjoy himself - but he was lonely and not enjoying himself now.  
  
Suddenly restless, he got up and moved to the edge of the slope to stare blindly down it. Slowly, he became aware of the few trees and low shrubs, the sparse grass that clung, grimly determined to wrest a living from the thin, leached soil that was washed thinner by every rainfall, the gullies cut by the rainwater as it ran downhill so rapidly that it barely had time to dampen the surface. The edge was broken, crumbling, and he knew a fresh upsurge of alarm for Spock's safety.  
  
He was buried so deeply in his own thoughts that he was completely unaware of the great bird soaring above him, eyes scanning the ground as it searched for the small beasts that were its prey. It saw one - a tiny, mouse-like creature - and swooped downward.  
  
The huge bird shot past, so close to Kirk that the rush of air from its wings recalled him to his surroundings with an abruptness so startling that he couldn't help but jump, his heart racing in sudden apprehension as adrenalin flooded his veins. His involuntary movement made him take one step nearer the edge - and the accident he had feared for Spock happened to him. The ground crumbled away under his foot; thrown off balance, he fell, rolling over and over down the hill.  
  
He let out one yell as he fell; then he was too busy to utter another sound as he tried desperately to catch at something - anything - to break his uncontrolled descent. From somewhere he was conscious of a voice shouting "Jim!" once; then he heard nothing but the clatter of falling stones.  
  
Desperately clutching at the shrubs as he slid past them, he cut his hands as the force of his fall, the weight of his body, pushed him on. How much further before he went over the rock face?  
  
But his attempts to catch at the shrubs were slowing him down. A final despairing grab was successful; and he hung three-quarters over the rock face, clutching grimly to the thin sapling that was his lifeline while he scrabbled frantically for a foothold. Frantically - but vainly.  
  
He realized he was out of breath, panting hard. He fought to steady his breathing so that he could call out to Spock, choking on the dust that filled the air...  
  


  
***  
  


  
  
Spock, also, had been feeling actively unhappy. It was getting increasingly difficult to maintain a proper degree of self control in Kirk's company. Normally, with other people around, it was easier; here, alone with Kirk, he was finding it almost impossible. It didn't help that he wasn't sure himself as to how he wanted to behave towards the human; he just knew he wanted to express something. But that would be illogical. Kirk knew Spock thought of him as a friend; he should not need to express it.  
  
In order to keep from behaving in an unVulcan fashion, Spock forced detachment on himself. He did realize it was making Kirk unhappy, but he was afraid that any display of his feelings would repel Kirk, disgust him, even alienate him completely. His reason told him that Kirk, being human, could - would - accept some expression of emotion from him without being horrified; but his memory of his schoolmates' mockery was still strong, still had the power to inhibit him, to force ultra-Vulcan behavior on him.  
  
He knew that his behavior was already ruining their leave; but habit was strong, as was the fear, unfounded though he knew it was, that to express his feelings would spoil their friendship. But - was he hurting Kirk so much that the human would begin to reject him in order to avoid further hurt?  
  
It was to give himself time to think that he moved to examine the unusual rock formation, picking his way carefully along the crumbling edge of the steep drop. Perhaps he would have examined it anyway - he wasn't sure. His inspection of it was cursory, although he knew that Kirk, whose eyes he could feel fixed an him, would believe him to be absorbed. He moved slowly out of the line of Kirk's sight and gave up the pretense. He sat on an outcropping of rock, wondering what to do for the best.  
  
He loved Kirk.  
  
He admitted it to himself with something of relief.  
  
He wanted to express that love - but he also knew that humans reacted very similarly to Vulcans with regard to the expression of affection between members of the same sex. Any expression of affection had to be oblique, but despite watching Kirk and McCoy closely in their attitude toward each other, he just didn't know how to express himself obliquely. Whatever else he did, he must not permit his affection to force Kirk away from him.  
  
He was still trying to set his mind in order when he heard a single yell, cut off short, and the clatter of falling stones. He jerked to his feet.  
A landslide - and among the falling stones and dust, something yellow which tumbled helplessly.  
  
"Jim!"  
  
Fear for Kirk's safety dominated his thoughts; the danger of falling himself never entered his mind as he plunged down the slope, heading diagonally towards the landslide with a recklessness he normally would have condemned as irresponsible. He could no longer see the tumbling, yellow-clad figure, and could only hope that his captain's fall had been stopped by a tree or shrub, unlikely though that appeared. Time seemed to stop as he scrambled downwards - would he ever get there?  
  
Then, below him, he heard coughing.  
  
"Jim!"  
  
"Here!"  
  
He hurried on, eyes searching. The dust was settling now - there! Just at the edge of the drop, a thin sapling was bearing the weight of the figure that clung to it so desperately. How long before the roots tore loose? In this thin soil, it couldn't have much grip...  
  
But he would need to hang onto it, too, to steady himself if he was to help Kirk up. He caught it with his left hand, low dawn, his fingers just above Kirk 's. He gripped the human around the body with his right arm and pulled, his strength enabling him to lift Kirk. It took only a few seconds before the captain was sprawled beside him on the steeply sloping ground - but to his anxious mind, it seemed more like a year.  
  
They lay still, Spock's arm still around Kirk, while they regained their breath and their hearts slowed to normal speed. Even when they had recovered physically, they lay a little longer, both unwilling to move. At last, Spock forced himself to sit up, saying, "Are you all right, Captain?"  
  
"Yes... and you, Spock?"  
  
"I am perfectly all right, sir." _Liar,_ his mind told him. Physically, he might have been perfectly all right, but emotionally he was far from recovered.  
  
He glanced upwards. "Do you feel like attempting the climb, Captain?"  
  
Kirk followed his eyes. "Not really," he confessed, "but just sitting here won't accomplish anything. I'll have to tackle it some time; we might as well get started."  
  
Slowly, they struggled upwards, helping each other as they went, their feet slipping, sending tiny showers of earth and stones rattling down. Spock found himself comparing this cautious ascent with the unwary speed of his descent; and Kirk, too, began to realize how recklessly Spock must have descended to reach him so quickly.  
  
At the top, they collapsed again, lying exhausted both mentally and physically. After a while, Kirk reached over and put a hand on Spock's shoulder. "Thank you, Spock."  
  
The Vulcan took a deep breath. "You have several injuries which should be tended," he said, forcing practicality on himself.  
  
"Just one or two scratches," Kirk protested, grinning suddenly, "but I bet I'm black and blue and stiff all over by this time tomorrow."  
  
"Let me see to your injuries - please, Jim."  
  
Kirk glanced at Spock, surprised by the anxiety in the Vulcan's eyes as he made the request.  
  
"All right - nurse." His smile robbed the word of any sting it might have possessed.  
  
The injuries tended, they sat back at the tent doorway. Kirk made an idle comment to which Spock replied, "Yes, Captain," in a tone so stiffly formal that Kirk changed his mind about what he meant to say next. The formality  no longer chilled him - in the last hour he had received ample proof that whatever was causing it, Spock's feelings toward him were unchanged. But - what causing it?  
  
"Spock... what's wrong?" Kirk asked gently.  
  
"Wrong, Captain?"  
  
"Do you think I haven't realized there's something bothering you? What is it? Is there anything I can do to help you?"  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
"It is a personal problem," Spock replied reluctantly as Kirk was beginning to think he wasn't going to get an answer.  
  
"Telling someone... it can help, Spock.    The person you tell isn't personally involved, so he can often see a solution you're too close to the problem to see."  
  
Spock shook his head.  
  
"You've confided in me before, Spock. It surely can't be as difficult, whatever it is, as telling me about pon farr." He hesitated as a thought struck him. "Spock, it isn't - "  
  
"No, Captain. But this... Captain, if I were to tell you, it would... disgust you."  
  
"I don't disgust easily." Kirk's voice was soft, persuasive. Spock clung desperately to his shaking resolve and shook his head again.  
  
"I cannot expect you to understand this."  
  
Kirk put his arm encouragingly around the Vulcan's shoulders. "Try me."  
  
"Don't do that!" Spock jerked away, panic showing momentarily on his face.  
  
"Spock!" The hurt surprise in Kirk's voice came near to breaking Spock.  
  
The Vulcan drew a shuddering breath, burying his face in his hands.  
  
Kirk hesitated, then decided to risk rebuff again. Once more he put his hand on Spock's shoulder. "Tell me, Spock."  
  
The resumption of gentleness finished Spock completely.  
  
"It's... I... I love you," he mumbled from behind sheltering hands.  
  
Kirk looked at the bent head in bewilderment. "I know you do," he said. "Spock - is that the reason you've been torturing both of us? But... why?"  
  
"It is unVulcan... and also... unTerran."  
  
"Spock... I don't think it's shameful to love you."  
  
"Don't, Jim... please. Don't make it harder for me."  
  
"Spock - " Kirk slipped his arm around the Vulcan's shoulders and pulled him close. "There's nothing wrong in expressing love - if it's what you both want," he whispered. He laid his face against Spock's head, pulling the Vulcan's hands down with his free hand.  
  
Spock remained stiff and unyielding for a moment longer then, hesitantly, he slipped his arm around Kirk.  
  
The human sighed contentedly.  
  


  
***  
  


  
  
They remained like that for a long time. Gradually, it began to get dark; the chill of the night started to penetrate. Kirk raised his head. "How about supper?" he asked.  
  
Spock shook his head. "I don't want any. But - "  
  
"Neither do I, really," Kirk confessed.  
  
They looked at each other, hardly able to see in the fading light, both a little nervous, each wondering what the other was thinking.  
  
Kirk got up and moved stiffly away to relieve himself. When he came back, Spock was washing. The human joined him.  
  
As Kirk towelled himself dry, Spock went into the tent. Spreading the towel out, Kirk entered to join him.  
  
He stripped and slid into his sleeping bag. Spock was already neatly tucked in his, sitting up folding his clothes, which he put in the bell end of the tent. Kirk simply dropped his at his side; he wouldn't be able to wear that particular uniform again.  
  
They looked at each other. "Jim... " Spock sounded concerned.  
  
"Mmm?"  
  
The Vulcan reached out to touch Kirk's near shoulder lightly. "You didn't tell me about this."  
  
_This_ was a nasty graze which, though it had barely broken the skin, was extensive. It had been hidden by Kirk's shirt which, though torn in several places, had still covered it.  
  
Kirk glanced sideways at it. "I thought it was just a bruise," he offered in explanation. "It'll be all right - but you can kiss it better if you want," he suggested lightly, expecting Spock to reply with his usual "Illogical. "  
  
Instead, Spock leaned over and touched his lips tentatively to the graze. The action had electrifying results.  
  
Their arms closed involuntarily around one another, pulling each other tight. The contact of their naked chests destroyed any inhibitions either of them had left.  
  
With a low moaning deep in his throat, Kirk sought Spock's mouth with his. As he found it, the Vulcan's hand moved up his spine, sending a fierce thrill coursing through him. He lifted his head.  
  
"This is what you want, Spock - isn't it?" he breathed.  
  
"Yes... but... you, Jim - is it what you want?"  
  
Kirk made no answer in words. He brushed his lips against Spock's, then lifted his head fractionally. The tip of his tongue moved lightly over the warm lips.  
  
There was no resistance Spock wanted to make. He leaned forward to Kirk's lips, his mouth opening to accommodate the human's tongue, knowing that by doing so, he was surrendering completely to his own desire, responding avidly to Kirk's caresses.  
  
Their hands explored each other; Kirk pushed his sleeping bag away with his feet, began to slide Spock's down, too.  
  
"No, wait." Spock stopped him. "It's getting cold. Come in beside me."  
  
It was a fairly tight fit; they could only manage by keeping their arms wrapped about one another. Their genitals touched, and Spock wrapped his legs around Kirk's to hold them together. The human slid a hand down to Spock's buttocks, pulling Spock's hips hard against his, feeling them both hardening and knowing utter satisfaction.  
  
Spock began to kiss Kirk's neck    The human lay there, his head to one side, baring his neck to Spock's mouth, moaning in ecstasy as they soared to the heights of desire...  
  


  
***  
  


  
  
At last they slept, still locked in each other's arms, Kirk's head pillowed on Spock's shoulder. But Kirk did not sleep for long. He half-woke, to lie for several minutes enjoying the warmth and comfort of his position before memory returned. Spock... what they had done together...  
  
He had initially responded to what, he knew, were Spock's needs; he'd had no such desire - at first. Only the desire to do something for Spock. The long embrace prior to bedtime might have been enough; he could have kept it at that. His suggestion, _Kiss it better_ had only been half-meant; if he had refrained from making it, probably nothing further would have happened.    But he had made it and the touch of Spock's lips had awakened in him a need he hadn't realized he had, a response he hadn't thought himself capable of. He had become even more demanding than Spock.  
  
And Spock... how did he feel about it now? Kirk raised his head to look at the Vulcan in the light of early dawn.  
  
Spock was awake, too. There was a trace of anxiety in the gaze that met Kirk's.  
  
The human said lightly, "You know, Spock, you surprised me last night. I thought Vulcans weren't able to make love except during pan farr. You certainly proved that you can."  
  
"We... are able to. But... once we begin... we find it difficult to stop. Therefore, we prefer not to begin... unless we must." He hesitated. "I... am sorry, Captain. I have... I have wanted you for... for a long time. I tried to fight my... my desire. I know humans regard this as wrong. You have been generous and I do appreciate that. I will try... not to take advantage of your kindness again."  
  
"I see." Kirk considered. What did he want? They couldn't go back, pretend it had never happened; he was sure Spock would find it as impossible to forget as he would. They could accept that it had happened, but never speak of it, never seek to repeat it. Did he want that? Or - he could admit the truth: that he was as drawn to Spock as Spock had admitted being drawn to him.  
  
"What if I... want you to take advantage of me?" he asked softly. Spock stared at him, sudden joy in his eyes. "How long are you going to make me wait?"  
  
The Vulcan's arm was lying limply around him, held in place by the tightness of the sleeping bag that held their bodies together as well. Spock tightened his grip on Kirk's body and the human's mouth rose to meet him. Their tongues caressed.  
  
"Jim," Spock whispered, "you realize I won't be satisfied with loving you once... or even twice? I can remain a long time like this, just holding you. But if you arouse me... "  
  
Deliberately, Kirk ran his hand over Spock's body.  
  
"... I will hurt you," Spock went on, struggling for control. "You are bruised from your fall, and your muscles are stiff."  
  
"It's not as bad as I'd expected," Kirk put in.  
  
"And I will have little control..."  
  
Kirk stopped him with a kiss. "If you make any more excuses, I'll begin to think you don't want me after all," he murmured.  
  
Spock gathered him closer, no longer fighting the hunger which consumed them both.  
  
There came a time when it was too warm to remain inside the sleeping bag, then a time when it became too warm inside the tent. They moved outside the tent, making love under the open sky until, at last, Spock was temporarily sated. "Jim..."  
  
"Mmm?"  
  
"Have I... tired you too much?"  
  
"Not really..." Kirk smiled. "You're a most satisfactory lover, Spock. I've never felt so... so contented."  
  
"I'm glad..."  
  
They drifted into sleep.  
  


  
***  
  


  
  
The evening chill woke them. They ate - their first meal for more than twenty-four hours - and washed, before returning to the tent. They didn't bother to light the lamp; both were still feeling a pleasant lassitude. Once more, they wriggled into the sleeping bag and, snuggled together, they slept again.  
  
When Kirk woke, he lay unmoving for some minutes, enjoying the warmth and comfort of Spock's presence in a relaxed way that had been impossible the previous day, trying again to think dispassionately about what had happened. At first, they had taken it in turns to be the active partner, but at last he had been content to lie passively, accepting Spock's lovemaking eagerly. They had exhausted themselves and each other; Kirk was well aware that he hadn't slept so well in months. It had been wonderful...  
  
A presence inside his mind stirred lightly, making itself felt. A thrill shot through him; he responded avidly, clinging to Spock with a fierce hunger that grew to almost unbearable proportions. Each sought to bind the other to him with unbreakable bonds of pleasure, each knowing there was no need to, that the love between them could never falter, that it wasn't possible to love each other more...  
  
When, at last, desire was satisfied, they were again lying under the open sky, neither of them knowing how or when they got there.  
  
They stretched luxuriously and Kirk sat up. "Let's go for a walk. We'll have to give Bones some account of what we've been doing." Without bothering to dress, they wandered into the woods behind them, feeling a new awareness of the beauty surrounding them.  
  
Lazily, after a while, they returned to the camp. Kirk prepared a meal, thinking as he did that Bones would be pleased - he'd be bound to lose weight on one meal a day. He wasn't even particularly hungry, he reflected. Extreme misery could cause loss of appetite - it seemed that extreme happiness did, too.  
  
Once they had eaten, they sat back comfortably, talking spasmodically. Then Spock reached over, pulling Kirk to him again.  
  
"Jim... " Their lips touched, clung. Their hands moved lovingly over each other, seeking, finding. All that mattered in life to either of them was right there - loving, asking to be loved...  
  
The leave passed like a dream. They loved, slept, and woke to love again. Occasionally they might walk or simply sit talking, but never for long.  
  
Too soon, it was time to return to the Enterprise.  
  
With everything packed, dressed again for the first time in days, they looked tentatively around.  
  
"It has been good," Spock said quietly.  
  
Kirk nodded. "I - I don't want to go back yet."  
  
"We must, Jim."  
  
"I know."  
  


  
***  
  


  
  
Back on the ship, both slipped quickly back into routine, finding it easier than expected in the familiar surroundings. An amazing amount of work had accumulated; Kirk eventually settled down with it in his cabin. It was late before he finished.  
  
It already seemed strange to be going to bed alone. He lay awake for a while, fighting the temptation to go to Spock. Their leave was over... it had been a wonderful interlude, but now they were back on duty and should behave accordingly. They had agreed on that... At last, he drifted into an uneasy doze.  
  
His drifting took him into a pleasant dream, a dream of loving arms holding him close, a body lying warm against his own... and suddenly he  
realized that it wasn't a dream. Opening his eyes, he raised his head.  
  
"I could not stay away, Jim," Spock whispered in confession. "Please - let me stay, just to hold you. I won't... do anything more... "  
  
Kirk rested his head on Spock's shoulder. "You won't? You won't mind if I do?"  
  
"Jim..." It was almost a moan of anticipation. He responded eagerly to Kirk's caress. His mind, which had previously only touched Kirk's  
lightly, locked onto it firmly.  
  
Much later, they looked at one another. "We might as well admit it, Spock," Kirk murmured, "we've become... addicted to what we can give each other. We may say we'll stay apart, but neither of us really wants to."  
  
"Yes." He pulled Kirk's head back into position on his shoulder.  
  
They slept peacefully, their linked minds moving together through their shared dreams. They were bonded together for life now; Spock had seen to that, feeling Kirk's complete acquiescence. And both were utterly content.  
  
Neither of them would ever be lonely again...


End file.
